JOHN Swinney was today warned it will take "a decade" to overhaul Scotland's education system.
The head of the country's largest teaching union issued the ominous prediction as he urged SNP ministers to take the threat of new laws off the table.

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He told Holyrood's Education Committee: "Frankly, if we’re talking about changing the culture, the idea that we’re going to do that in a year is fanciful.

"Changing the culture of Scottish education is a decade-long agenda."

He added: "Significant progress for me is that we’re all still sitting round the same table in a year’s time, because we are at least then collaborating on the agreed agenda.

"We need to get rid of the idea that there are threats sitting behind the offer of friendship."

Stephen McCabe, Cosla spokesman for children and young people, said councils would prefer the Bill to be ditched completely and were worried that it was still "sitting there on the shelf".

Mr Swinney insisted that the introduction of the Bill was still a possibility and said a change of culture was needed.

The Deputy First Minister later apologised to parliament for a "misleading" letter on controversial school tests sent by a senior civil servant.

It came after Graeme Logan from the Scottish Government's learning directorate told councils that parents could only withdraw children from the tests in "exceptional circumstances".

He cited advice from the Society of Local Authority Lawyers (Solar), only for the body to announce last week that it had not provided a view on the issue.

Mr Swinney was yesterday challenged by Tory MSP Liz Smith over whether he personally signed off the letter.

He said he had not approved it but added: "I can only apologise to Parliament ... for the events that took place in that respect, but I take responsibility for it because I should take responsibility for it."

He added while there is no statutory right for parents to withdraw their child from any aspect of schooling other than some parts of religious education, they could discuss the matter with the school.

Nicola Sturgeon is the leader of the Scottish National Party (Image: GETTY)

Mr Swinney has announced an overhaul of the assessments, but has refused to scrap them despite a barrage of complaints from parents and from teachers.

Some staff claim distressed P1 pupils were in tears over the "unnecessary and cruel" tests.

Opposition parties are expected to unite at Holyrood in a vote to try to force ministers to scrap them for those in P1.